COLERAIN – It was dark in the area known as &uot;The Bottom&uot; here on Thursday night of last week. However, that didn’t prevent local law enforcement officers from &uot;seeing&uot; exactly what was happening before their eyes.

Kevin Lamar Wingfield is behind bars in the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail, held under a $250,000 bond, for allegedly selling cocaine out of his Colerain residence – 2533-B, NC 45 North.

&uot;Mr. Wingfield, who has served time previously on drug charges, had again become a target of law enforcement due to information we had concerning illegal drug activity at his place of residence,&uot; said Bertie County Sheriff Greg Atkins. &uot;We had information that he was dealing a lot of cocaine in the Colerain area. We acted upon that information and made this arrest.&uot;

In conjunction with the Roanoke-Chowan Narcotics Task Force (RCNTF), surveillance was set-up on Wingfield’s home. According to RCNTF Commander Frank Timberlake, that surveillance plus information received from a confidential informant was all the local lawmen needed for probable cause purposes from which to obtain a search warrant.

That warrant was served at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Upon entering the residence, the law enforcement officers encountered an environment with no lighting. However, they observed Wingfield standing at a kitchen counter, with a flashlight in hand, where he was allegedly weighing crack cocaine on a set of digital scales.

Wingfield was immediately arrested and detained at the scene while lawmen searched the rest of the house and any vehicles located on the property. That search yielded one ounce of crack cocaine, valued at $1,200, in a vehicle. Timberlake said that quantity of cocaine, once divided, would bring at least three times the original cost when sold on the street.

Also found was $557 in currency and other drug-related items – scales, packaging material, etc.

Wingfield was formally charged with possession with intent to sale and deliver crack cocaine, trafficking in cocaine by possession, trafficking in cocaine by transportation and maintaining a dwelling and a vehicle to keep a controlled substance.

&uot;We appreciate the input from the citizens of Colerain, information that aided us in making this arrest,&uot; stated Timberlake. &uot;As I’ve said so many times in the past, we are so grateful that the citizens of all the communities we serve are taking an active role in helping to reduce the flow of illegal drugs. We promise to follow up on each and every tip we receive from the public as we join in an effort with them to make all of our communities a safer place to live.&uot;

Timberlake thanked the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office in helping to build the case against Wingfield as well as making the arrest.